Explore the Snowdonia Slate Trail

There’s never been a better time for exploration, thanks to the great news that The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It joins three other World Heritage Sites in Wales and places worldwide such as the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Pyramids, Grand Canyon and Great Barrier Reef.

The new World Heritage Site consists of six distinct areas known as component parts. These include spectacular quarry landscapes like Penrhyn, Dinorwig, the Nantlle Valley, Ffestiniog, Cwmystradllyn and Cwm Pennant and Bryneglwys, together with the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, Penrhyn Castle and the Ffestiniog and Talyllyn narrow-gauge railways, built to transport Welsh slate from quarry to markets around the world.

The Snowdonia Slate Trail is an 83-mile/133km walking route that celebrates this heritage, taking you through a unique landscape that, in the late 1800s, was responsible for much of the half a million tons of slate produced by the country each year. Along the way you’ll encounter fractured, jagged mountains and steep, dark-stoned valleys, home to communities and industries that were instrumental in the story of slate.

Starting at Porth Penrhyn near Bangor and finishing in Bethesda, the Trail is split into 13 sections of varying length and difficulty – perfect for both seasoned hikers and more fair-weather walkers. No matter how far you choose to travel along the Snowdonia Slate Trail, you’ll enjoy a fascinating, ground-level glimpse of a dramatic landscape that was once the slate capital of the world. 

How you choose to tackle the Trail is entirely up to you, but to get you going we’ve outlined a few possible options for single-day walks below.

Croesor-Tanygrisiau-Llan Ffestiniog

This sometimes wild (and always dramatic) 10-mile/16km walk takes you through the heart of the slate industry.

Section one
Starting from the quiet little village of Croesor, the first 4.6-mile/7.4km stretch of this walk leads you though some of the Trail’s wildest and most challenging terrain. Travelling up the Croesor Valley you’ll see remnants of the village’s mine workings and cross the dam at Llyn Croesor, before descending to the former quarry at Rhosydd. It’s an otherworldly place, where the skeletal remains of buildings (including a crumbling row of workers’ barracks and a broken waterwheel) sit amid piles of waste earth and rubble excavated during the mine’s working life. 

Then it’s on to the shores of Llyn Cymorthin, past ruined houses and a chapel, over the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog Railway line (originally built to transport slate) and on to some well-deserved refreshments at the Lakeside Café in Tanygrisiau.

Section two
Not long into the second 5.4-mile/8.6km stage of the walk, you’ll travel through the heart of the slate industry at Blaenau Ffestiniog, nestled among jagged peaks and giant slate quarries. Alongside reminders of the town’s storied industrial heritage (including, of course, the famous Llechwedd Slate Caverns where you can take a deep dive into former underground workings), you’ll also find eye-catching new additions including sculptures made of local slate. From here, the trail takes you through the valleys of Cwm Bowydd and Cwm Teigl on its way to the village of Llan Ffestiniog.

Waunfawr-Nantlle-Rhyd Ddu-Beddgelert

Measuring 16.2 miles/26.1km and covering three sections of the Snowdonia Slate Trail, this walk travels through a changing landscape of mountains, moorland, lakes and quarries. For much of its first section, it follows North Wales Pilgrims’ Way (a 140-mile/225km route linking holy sites between Holywell and Bardsey Island). 

Section one
From Waunfawr, the 5.9-mile/9.5km route climbs a steep, wooded hillside to open moorlands then on to the Nantlle Valley’s extensive slate workings, passing a number of former industrial sites including the spectacular craggy moonscape of Pen yr Orsedd quarry just before you reach Nantlle.

Section two
From the shores of Llyn Nantlle, this 5.1-mile/8.2km route follows the Nantlle Valley to the village of Rhyd Ddu, with the looming Mynydd Mawr at one side and the rocky Nantlle Ridge at the other. About half way along, you’ll pass through the little village of Drws y Coed, where you’ll see a memorial to a chapel crushed by a falling boulder in 1892 (and the offending rock itself). From there, the path skirts the atmospheric Llyn Dywarchen before descending through woodland into Rhyd Ddu. 

Section three
The final 5.2-mile/8.4km stretch to Beddgelert follows the Lôn Gwyrfai trail, a recently created recreational route that leads through a varied range of landscapes with striking views of Snowdonia’s towering peaks. 

The trail begins with a loop around Llyn y Gader (reached via a raised causeway that once carried trains laden with slate from the nearby Gader-wyllt quarry), before entering Beddgelert Forest. You’ll often be following the route of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, the narrow-gauge line originally built to haul slate to the coast, crossing over the tracks a number of times. 

You’ll also cross the River Gwyrfai on a stone bridge, built in 1778 to carry horses and coaches on their way to Caernarfon, eventually emerging from the trees onto farmland at the foot of Moel Hebog before descending to the picturesque village of Beddgelert and journey’s end. 

Need to know

Many of the towns and villages along the trail are connected by bus services like the Snowdon Sherpa, giving you a number of options for getting around when walking linear stretches of the Snowdonia Slate Trail. Visit gwynedd.llyw.cymru/bwsgwynedd and traveline.cymru for tickets and timetables. 

Take care of yourself (and the countryside)

The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is undoubtedly fascinating, but by its very nature can be remote, dangerous and challenging. A significant proportion of the landscape is within private ownership and some of this on land where no public access is permitted.

Before you set off to explore the slate landscape, ask yourself:

Am I allowed to access this site?
Do I have the right gear?
Do I know what the weather will be like?
Do I have the knowledge and skills for the day?

Go to AdventureSmart.uk to find out how to enjoy your visit safely.

Be sure to follow The Countryside Code for tips on how to enjoy the outdoors considerately and respectfully.